I was about to wash dishes (a lot of them-it's been a while...) and thought I'd make the chore a little more fun by listening to something from oneplace.com. I get over there, click on Family Life Today and find this article about hospitality, messy houses and friendship.

You know, for those of you who struggle with a slightly lived in look...or the perfectionism that makes the messy days bad days.

I've been thinking about perfectionism a lot in the last year or so and truly believe it is bondage (although I've worn the perfectionist badge with pride in the past--ahhh, that's probably why God's given me a gaggle of children--I do believe it's impossible to be a sane perfectionist mommy of many!).

Oh, and just so you know, a determined toddler is fully capable of opening a watermelon. Did you know a watermelon will split in half with only a 3.5 foot fall from the kitchen counter? So, I'll be washing dishes and mopping the floor!

My Bethy

I just gotta talk about my Bethany. She's the cutest 4 year old on the planet. She has the sweetest little voice and she makes every syllable count-even if she can't quite pronounce it. I can't explain it but for those of you who know her, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She's so loving and trusting...Last week I made her believe her freckles make her sneeze-and what cute freckles they are! Can you see them in the picture above? Her freckles are so cute they deserve a centerfold spread and an entire post dedicated to them!

Bethy is a petite little thing. She is just now wearing size 5-with pins in the waist, and she has a constant habit of holding her pants up, even when they fit. She has a great sense of style. She's often seen in her pink hand-me-down cowboy boots and whatever outfit that pleases her. Yesterday it was her blue and white night gown and the boots-while playing out in the backyard all day!

Daddy and Beth having an early morning consultation about the status of the puppies. She followed him around in the yard with her hands in her pockets-just like him! Oh, and don't miss the boots!

She's our family expert. She knows, intuitively, where everyone is, where the car keys are, where the missing flip flop is and what's for dinner. Today Hope was searching for her pink and white tennis shoe and Bethany quietly says, "I know where it is, follow me." She took her on a wild goose chase that finally brought them back to the living room where Bethany mysteriously showed Hope the show--on Beth's foot.

She's just so dadgum funny. With all the morning sickness, school has taken a backseat to heaving into the toilet. I was showering and the girls were doing workbooks at the table. Shane came in and told them, "I think it's time to consider public school." Ash & Hope immediately expressed their disdain for the idea while Bethany (who really doesn't know what public school is) raised her fists in victory and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Her big sisters quickly looked at her with astonishment and disbelief. Beth usually can't even be convinced to go to her Awana class, there's no way she'd go to school all day! By the way, Shane was just teasing them :)

She's so dramatic and makes the funniest faces-we especially love when she makes her eye brows jump up and down as if to punctuate her point (she's not doing it here, sorry!).

Bethany has so many funny stories. Her most consistent one is that she doesn't want to grow up. We had to convince her to turn 4. Cake was a good incentive. We aren't allowed to talk about "when she grows up..." because she adamantly refused to do so. I think her fear is of leaving home. She recently decided she'd get as big as Ash, but that's it. She's so cute and funny and (usually) easy, I don't want her to grow up either!

Lighter post

With the heavy posts below, I thought it might be nice to throw in a little humor. Today, while running errands, Bethany was with me and we were having a jolly time visiting. We were talking about baby names and I think we may just have a winner. It'll work with either a boy or a girl, is unique and fun....how about "French Fry"?

Well, it's what Bethany said before she quickly changed her mind to Ally. Poor baby, if she's a girl she might just get a name like French Fry, we're kind of low on girl names...

Same old song, new words!

It's Christmas Eve morning and as Shane and Ash are half an hour away finishing some shopping and I'm waiting on the flour and yeast to do their thing in this delicious cinnamon roll recipe, I overhear the following:

As Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer plays in the background, I hear Beth say "Like Fenokio" (a combo of my cousin's last name and Pinocchio) after every line. She's heard her sisters sing all those add-on and just ran with her own version. The funniest part is that Hope corrected her after the "and they wouldn't let poor Rudolph play and reindeer games" part. Bethany sings, "like Fenokio" and Hope says with all the seriousness of a reprimanding older sister), "No, like Fenopoly!"

Merry Christmas, no matter how you say it!

"I didn't sing, I just 'miled"

Ash, Hope and Beth were in the church's Christmas play this morning. Beth went in there never intending to sing a single line of her two or three songs. But, she promised to smile. And smile she did!





Here's Ash as a reader:


And Hope as Mary:


Ash & Hope did well, but those cutie pie angels stole my heart-and this one's not even mine!

From the mouths (and bottoms) of babes

Here's some humor for you!

Bethany was quite sick last night so I took her to the urgent care clinic while the girls went to Awana. She felt miserable and wanted to just be in my lap all evening, so I held her until bedtime. The housework just had to wait, that's not as important as my sick girl.

I stayed up too late, wired from caffiene and Bethany's demands. When I got up this morning, the only thing I wanted was a nap. When I was about to slip back to bed so I could nap before the girls got up, in runs Bethany with a huge grin-she was elated to be feeling better. I told her I was really tired and wondered if she wanted to go back to bed. She said, "No Mommy, I don't...you don't need to go to sleep, you just need some coffee!". She's 4! What in the world does she know about coffee fixes?!

So, I go to Wal-Mart to get her Rx filled. The wait was over half an hour, then I had to get gas on the way home. All the time I was shopping, I was stressing over not being home, not cleaning up from last night's neglected chores, from not doing school, and so on. It didn't help that I was tired. My cell rings while I'm getting gas and Ash calls. Here's the dialog:

Me: Hey, what do you need?
Ash (in hysterics, laughing): Mom! Jaybird took her diaper off and there's poop everywhere! She's trying to play in it!

At this point the only thing keeping me from a full blow weeping session is that I'm pumping gas. In public.

Me: Ohhhh, you've got to be kidding. Okay. Where's Daddy (why do they always call us when Daddy is available???)?
Ash: We have bath water running...it'll be okay, Mom!

Thankfully, Shane comes to the rescue just in time to see Hope getting into the bath with Jay to help wash her. After she got in, he said she looked down at her feet and started screaming, "I'm standing in poop! I'm standing in poop!"

I'm so glad that when I got home (ahhem, I DID NOT take the long way home. We need to establish that right now. I'm a good mom and never leave my husband to clean up messes meant for me. Never.), yeah, when I got home, Jay was wrapped squeaky clean in a bath towel and all was good--and clean.

Tonight, I hear Bethany say, "Mommy, I think my stomach hurts. I have a butterfly problem." I say, "Oh, really. I'm sorry." She says, "No, Mom, that's good. But it does make you feel polka-dotty. Polka-dotty is bad...I need a Tums."

I know what you mean, kid. Sometimes I feel polka-dotty too.

An Ode to a Hike

I’m feeling extra inspired
Probably because I am so tired.

Yesterday we went on a hike
And by mile 2, I wished I had a bike.

But Dad, striking out so bold,
Found a great rock with signs of old.

We went on a search for a geocache
But the GPS and I didn’t match.

Dear Hubby figured it out
But not before we’d extended our route.

Finding the stash while hiding from briars,
Our four year old’s excitement flew higher and higher!

Bethany, while looking under a rock
Found what all of us had not!

In a can that had held bullets that kill,
We found prizes and toys to thrill!

We even found a travel bug, I have to boast
It will be moved along to the Ivory Coast!

Off we go, to head back to camp,
Sure wish we had a handicapped ramp.

The reason Dad’s old back is sore
Is that little Bethany said, “Carry me more!”

Jaybird was content in the sling
But her 25 pounds weren’t no little thang!

I got worried; Dad had left to answer the call
Dark was falling and we had to haul!

Mom alone prods the girls-"Go with all your might
We have to get out of the woods before night!"

Safe and sound we finally arrived at the head of the trail
There was Daddy-looking a little frail!

“Rest” is a good adjective for the room
We all raced there in the night’s gloom!

Safe and together at last, we headed to camp
Where the Fluitt family had our dogs under a lamp.

We ate and ate and retold the tale
Of when we all traveled that Mineral Wells trail.

My funny Hopey

Little Miss Innocent

I hate to post two times in one day-but this is worth it, especially to my friends who know and love my typical attention seeking middle child, Hope.

You see, Hope is a story teller. She's a darn good one, too. When she was about 5, she told my friend Jonna (her Sunday School teacher) a whopper...and it is being continued even today!

Hope limped into Sunday School one morning, quietly hoping someone would ask why. Jonna took the bait, being the concerned teacher she is. Hope--with a completely straight face--told Jonna that I ran over her foot with the minvan. Jonna thought this could be true, given the limp, and asked more questions. Hope gave a blow-by-blow account of what happened...something like I was backing out of the driveway and rolled the tire over her foot. Knowing Hope, I'm sure she gave lots of background and details to support her story. She blew it though, when she told Jonna I woudn't take her to the doctor. Jonna realized she was being conned by a 5 year old--but she took it well; she just told me I should channel all of this far fetched fiction and encourage Hope to be a writer.

So tonight--more than a year later--we see another friend's mom in the grocery store. Dian visited with us and recited all the girls' names to see if she could get them right. Hope decides Dian also needs to hear all their nicknames..."Hollywood...Hot Rod..." she starts. Thinking Dian was doing well to just know all their names, I said, "I don't think Dian needs to know all the nicknames." Dian thought I was meaning Hope didn't need to tell our our family stories and we laughed about Hope being our storyteller. I brought up the foot story saying, "Yeah, Hope told Jonna I ran over her with the car."

Hope--matter of factly--wasted no time and chimed in, "Because you did!"

New things...

I'm trying new things this year...anything that intimidates me, I'm trying to "go for it". My progress on this goal is best saved for a different post, but I wanted to share some "firsts"I experienced this very day!

First, I (insanely) took 5 children & myself-including two one year olds-for hair cuts this morning. It really wasn't the one year olds that scared me, it was my almost-seven year old. She loves all the pretty necklaces and boas that the salon sells and she can't keep herself from wandering over to them. This in itself isn't so bad, but then her 4 yr old sister has to follow her over and then Jaybird toddles over as well, licking the glass display case while Hope yells at Beth not to touch, who then steps back into a display of glittery T-shirts all while Ash is busy taking my calls and can't stop her sisters from bringing total chaos to the salon! This hasn't actually happened, but I fear it will while I'm around the corner getting my hair cut--with my glasses off, so I can only really hear what's going on!

So, I prayed for it to go well, asked a friend to pray...and then I pulled out my spatula and threatened each child over 2 1/2 feet tall that they'd better behave. My spatula is still in my purse-it went unused today! The've never acted better and it went fairly well. The babies got tired at the end, so Ash took them all outside and got them buckled in the car seats (with the van's side doors open). There they ate their snack while I pretended to be a public school mom with no children with her enjoying getting my hair cut, lol.

After 2 hours, we did survive! Beth and I even shared a tender moment--the stylist left her in the chair and ran to wash another woman's hair. Beth is shy and although she loves getting her hair done, I know its a stretch for her to let someone else so close. I was telling her how pretty she was and quietly asking her if she liked the pretty green shimmery cape on her. She batted her long eyelashes and smiled...then she said, "Mommy, will you pick my nose?".

My other first was that I cooked kabobs! I don't have much experience cooking meat other than ground beef or baked chicken, so this was a fun stretch for me. It's all because the e-mealz program has it on the menu-the directions were so easy and they turned out great! I think Shane will enjoy them.

Be blessed-and try something new!